TAPS: Army Spc. Tyanna S. Avery-Felder Died April 07, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom 22, of Bridgeport, Conn.; assigned to the 296th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died April 7 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries sustained April 4 when her convoy vehicle was hit with an improvised explosive device in Balad, Iraq. First Connecticut woman killed in Iraq is laid to rest By Laura Walsh Associated Press BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Army Spc. Tyanna Avery-Felder, the first woman from Connecticut killed during the war in Iraq, was remembered as a fighter, a friend and a hero. “Although we are sad at her passing, we are exceptionally proud of her and of her service,” Gov. John G. Rowland told those gathered for her funeral inside Mount Aery Baptist Church. “Our world is a better and safer place because of individuals like Tyanna. We are forever in her debt.” Family, friends and clergy members filled every pew at the church. The soldier’s parents, Ray and Ilene Avery, and husband, Army Spc. Adrian Felder, sat quietly in the front pew and listened as mourners spoke of her strength, infectious smile and kind heart. “Tyanna was my soldier and I knew her very well,” said Sgt. Thomas Smith Jr., who was stationed with Avery-Felder at Fort Lewis in Washington. “She was a daughter to me. She even called me dad.” “I can tell you she was a joy to be around,” he said, fighting back tears. “She was respected and loved by her military family.” Avery-Felder, 22, who grew up in Bridgeport, was killed on April 7 when the truck she was in hit a makeshift bomb — a week before she was scheduled to go on leave to visit her family in Bridgeport. Her family had been preparing codfish balls, macaroni and cheese and other foods she loved for her arrival. Bishop Franklin L. Fountain Jr., recalled Avery-Felder’s grandmother coming to him a few weeks before she died to tell him that she was coming home. “And then the bad news came,” he said softly. “Tyanna has lived her life. The life that Tyanna has lived has spoken for her today.” As Schanavia Felder, a cousin by marriage, played “Amazing Grace” on a saxophone, mourners gently swayed and hummed the tune. About 20 large bouquets of red and white flowers and two framed pictures of the soldier surrounded Avery-Felder’s flag-draped coffin. Avery-Felder attended Kolbe Cathedral High School in Bridgeport, where she played basketball and sang in the choir. She later took classes at Southern Connecticut State University toward a career in early childhood education, but after completing her freshman year, she changed her plans. High school friend Odessa Blackwell shared a story of Avery-Felder helping her through a problem she was having with a boyfriend. “She told me, ‘Never, even let them see you cry or they’ll walk all over you,”’ Blackwell said, which was met by laughter. “She was so tough.” Rowland, Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi, state Sen. Ernest Newton, D-Bridgeport, and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal all spoke during the service. “She leaves for us a living legacy, a model, an example of public service,” Blumenthal said. “Let us make this nation worthy of her sacrifice so that her service will not have been in vain.” Avery-Felder is one of 13 people from Connecticut killed in Afghanistan or Iraq. She was awarded both the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 21:59:23 +0000
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